A Rose's Thorns
by momoxtoshiro
Summary: The Ursa had directed its attention back to her, but Ruby was frozen; she couldn't remember how to fight, what she was supposed to do now. She could only run for her life. [RWBY Tuesday]. T for language.


**A little idea based off of an art piece and idea that can be found here chill-chinchilla,tumblr,com/post/106015773283. Cover art by my friend jen-iii!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

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><p>A Rose's Thorns<p>

She never thought this fight would be easy.

None of them ever did.

It was just one massive, unruly storm of turmoil and chaos.

Grimm as far as the eye could see and then some, hoards of them stretching out for miles. Ruby couldn't help but think this kind of scene seemed to be getting all-too familiar recently. She didn't like its frequency.

And each battle seemed to be increasingly more brutal than the last. Bloodier.

The forest now was coated in layers of untarnished snow that had only recently been tainted by colossal claws, pawprints, and a sickening tinge of sanguine.

The cool crispness of the seasonal scent was exchanged for an immensely less pleasant one, one that was thick and nauseating, one that clung to the backs of their throats like some parasite that wouldn't let go. If they hadn't been so used to it by now, it might have made them ill.

The team's formation had broken up hours ago, and now the four of them fought alone, alongside one another's partners, or simply whomever was nearby. They just made sure to stick close, not to let even one of their teammates out of sight for more than a few seconds.

Despite their obviously overwhelming number of opponents, they relentlessly refused to surrender. It was an oath they'd made as huntresses-in-training, to never give up until their dying breaths.

As Ruby surveyed her exhausted team now, she realized such an oath might not have been far from being fulfilled.

Her sister was caked with blood, likely due to her gauntlets' necessity to be most effective when in close range. Yang's semblance hadn't stopped lapping flames at her hair since they'd arrived here, and Ruby imagined her fuse was running short by now.

Blake was no better off, her strikes weakening with forced frequency, her bow long-gone to the slicing winter winds, ears glued back to her head from the biting cold.

The two girls stuck by one another as often as the fight allowed, dodging wolves and boars and bears just to land an inch closer to one another. It was evident their partnered pairs worked best together as they'd been assigned – fated.

Blake always covered Yang's blind spots. Whenever the blonde went into a fit of rage, she'd start snapping spines and cracking necks so furiously that she didn't always pay attention to the ambushes. Blake was sure to handle those for her, to keep Yang safe when her rampages got a little out of hand, as beneficial as they were to their success in this fight.

Likewise, Yang always had her partner's back, throwing punches to deflect whatever unlucky beast tried to take a swipe at the Faunus girl. Yang knew better than anyone that the blaring volume and racket that cracked the air during such a fight hindered Blake's sensitive hearing more than a little, so she made sure to do what she could for her.

But Ruby could see their exhaustion clearer than anything.

The supply of Dust Weiss had given Blake had long-since run out, and even though every hit Yang took made her stronger, there was some basic human factor to all of this that dictated she simply couldn't go on forever.

All Ruby could manage was another bout of encouraging shouts to them.

"We're doing great, you guys! Keep it up! We can win this!"

Ruby returned her attention to her own fight, sending Weiss a brief, silent apology for having made her fight alone for a few seconds.

Weiss was the only one of them who'd managed to avoid the inevitable blood splatter, it seemed. The icy blue fabrics of her combat skirt still shone as cleanly as the few patches of undisturbed snow around her, and the only aspect to demonstrate how long she'd been fighting was a slight ruffle to her hair, and a minor limp in her gait.

But her glyphs quickly compensated for that, and her leaps and strikes never suffered or lacked in grace or accuracy.

The heiress noticed when Ruby joined the fray again after a brief moment of pause. She felt better, too; over the many months they'd been training together, it was only natural that Weiss preferred fighting with Ruby at her side.

Crescent Rose was slick with liquid red, her leader's cloak dyed a darker scarlet than usual. The calibre of such battles were making them all stronger each time with less leeway for mishaps.

It was almost becoming a routine of sorts, and unlike their opponents, team RWBY learned and adapted because they lived. And they lived because they learned and adapted.

Weiss finished off her current wolf before dropping back down to the forest floor, her boots sending up puffs of white. She spared the second to cast a glyph for Ruby to help accelerate her already impossibly-fast semblance, resulting in a swift and clean victory over her newest wave of monsters.

A miniature tornado of rose petals fluttered down behind the brunette, but never got the chance to settle before Ruby was kicking off again.

Weiss rolled her eyes briefly, using the instant to catch her breath before she engaged the beasts once more.

Her form was always perfect, never lacking, as one would expect from a Schnee. Her Dust supply was nearly depleted now, so she was certain only to use it when she absolutely knew it would be effective.

She decided to use an old technique to make that happen.

Rather than killing every beast that charged her now, she simply made them angrier; a quick slash to the nose, a jab to the forepaw, a slice to the hindquarters. She utilized her glyphs to shoot herself across the clearing, between the trees as she extended her rapier. Each small cut would elicit a raging howl or bay, and the malice of the stricken Grimm would alert others.

Weiss worked breathlessly, gradually drawing as many of the beasts as she could away from her team. She herded them in circles, like a shepherd would sheep – only rather than sheep, she was leading wolves and bears.

She'd taken a great chunck of the Grimm with her, leaving Yang and Blake with but a small handful to deal with now. Ruby lacked an opponent, and with a quick glance to ensure the other two would be fine together, she directed her attention to Weiss.

The heiress didn't let a single claw out of line, backing them all into a circle, tightening it with every round.

At one point, Ruby caught her eye – an invitation to join in.

The young leader tore off at top speed, rushing around the circle of beasts twice for every lap Weiss made, cornering them against each other. It wasn't long before the howls and snarls went from wrathful to terrified.

Weiss began sprinkling her remaining Dust bit by bit, forming ice easily amongst the snow that was already present. It pinned the Grimm to the ground one by one, and Ruby's scythe dissuaded them from leaving the death trap; those who dared met a similar fate.

She managed to cleave a few heads before Weiss caught her gaze again, tilting her chin in a silent request for Ruby to withdraw.

With one last swing to a Beowulf's throat, Ruby leapt back a good distance, eager to see what Weiss had planned.

The heiress didn't disappoint. She never did.

They'd trapped at least thirty Grimm in that circle of ice, and picking them off now would be child's play. But killing them individually would only exert more energy; there were still several dozen more lurking about, after all.

So Weiss made it easy for them. She used the last of her Dust now, sprinkling red and orange along the line of ice. Within seconds, it erupted into a dazzlingly terrifying display of flames, igniting every enmeshed beast into a writing mass of fur and bone. The deafening bellows and howls made the girls recoil a bit, but it wasn't long before the Grimm collapsed in succession, forming a charred heap of flesh.

Ruby sped around the bodies one last time, sending up a spray of snow to extinguish the fire, leaving only the dissipating corpses behind. The stench was hopefully rancid enough to deter other predators, and it made her eyes sting.

Ruby sighed in satisfaction before seeking out her partner again, grinning widely.

But she'd forgotten that the fight wasn't over yet.

Weiss saw it first, the Great Ursa that had emerged from behind her partner, and she knew instantly there wasn't enough time to cast a glyph. The giant paw was already raised above Ruby's head-

Weiss instinctively dashed forward, shoving the girl out of the way and into the snow – to safety.

She sustained the blow herself, a withering cry flying from her lungs as the impact struck the side of her head. It flung her against a nearby tree.

There was a loud cracking sound, but it wasn't the trunk or branches.

Weiss slumped to the ground, limp and unmoving.

Ruby couldn't fathom what had just happened. Her vision was spinning as a result of Weiss' powerful shove, the frigid chill of the snow registering with her skin now.

But nothing was more chilling than the sight of her partner lying so still.

Ruby's eyes went wide, her jaw gaping helplessly, voice lifeless.

"_Weiss_...?"

No response.

The Ursa had directed its attention back to her, but Ruby was frozen; she couldn't remember how to fight, what she was supposed to do now.

She could only run for her life.

Abandoning Crescent Rose, she scrambled out of the way, bolting for her partner at the base of the tree.

"Weiss? Weiss?!" She collapsed to her knees, hands shaking uncontrollably as her fingers brushed across the heiress' scarred cheek. She tried to swallow, but it didn't go down, only rising up again in a choked sob of her name. "_Weiss_-?"

She pulled the girl's torso into her lap, watched as Weiss' head rolled limply to one side. Ruby cupped her cheek as the first of many tears started to fall.

"No..." she rasped. "No, no, no, no, Weiss, no _please_..." Her fingertips trailed along her partner's smooth skin. There was no blood visible, but Ruby feared what might have been on the inside. One hand strayed to Weiss' collar, but her hands were too cold to decipher a pulse.

"Weiss..." she whimpered. "Weiss, no... this... this is my fault..."

More tears.

More sorrow.

More regret.

More fear.

All of her emotions were palpable on the air now.

The remaining Grimm could smell them, taste them, and they drunk it all in.

They wanted more.

Yang and Blake had collapsed several yards away, too far to be of any use to Ruby.

Yang noticed the shift in the beasts' interest and was horrified at what she saw – Weiss motionless in the lap of her distraught, defenseless sister.

She pushed herself up from the bloodied snow and shouted in agony.

Blake, who was on her knees at Yang's side, jolted.

"Yang, _no!_" she yelped, grabbing her shoulders and trying to force her back down. She'd been in the process of healing her partner's severe wounds, and Blake quickly resumed the flow of her aura onto her. "You're losing too much blood, you can't move now! Let me-"

"_Blake!_" She barked, and it was furious. "Forget about me! Help Ruby!"

Blake's head snapped up, and she too finally took note of what was going on. All of the remaining Grimm were prowling toward their young leader now, attracted to her wailing sobs.

Her eyes flashed back to Yang's red-rimmed ones, and Blake's ears went flat all over again.

"Y-Yang, I can't-"

"Listen to me!" Yang reached up and grabbed a fist-full of her partner's black scarf, yanking her forward until Blake could feel her heated breath. "That's my little sister, goddamn it! I've lost everything else Blake, I can't lose her, too!"

"Yang, you're-"

"I don't care!" she yowled, but it wasn't long before her voice cracked. "Ruby's all I got, Blake... I can't lose her, too... so please..."

Her vice grip on Blake's scarf slackened before releasing altogether. Yang's eyes rolled back as she slumped into the snow, indecipherable murmurs still tumbling out of her mouth.

"Yang- _Yang!_"

Blake's eyes went from her partner to her leader and back again. Yang was bleeding from her stomach and right leg, but Ruby was more or less unharmed. She couldn't speak for Weiss, but if her leader could pull herself together just long enough to get the heiress and herself to a safer place-

"Ruby!" Blake shouted across the clearing to her. The Grimm were drooling, closing in on her more and more by the second. Blake raised her voice until it sent throbs of pain through her chest and throat. "Ruby! Get out of there! Just _move!_" she screamed.

Maybe she hadn't shouted loud enough to have her voice surmount the sounds of Ruby's wails and the beasts' growls, but either way, Ruby hadn't seemed to hear her.

"Damn it...!" Blake huffed, trying to hasten the stream of her aura into Yang to staunch the worrying flow of blood that kept pooling into the snow, soaking it.

She still had a bit of time. If she could just heal Yang, she might be able to make it to Ruby before the wolves did.

And yet she knew none of them were in any condition to fight anymore, and the backup they'd called for wouldn't make it on time.

And she knew that the Grimm would direct their attention to Yang and herself next.

She noticed that several of them were already pausing, looking toward the two of them rather than Ruby and Weiss.

Blake wondered if she could make her own fear and distress overpower Ruby's, make herself more enticing to the monsters.

Blake was shaking almost spastically, gasping for breath as she poured her aura into Yang's wound. Her plan might've been working, because the Grimm had paused, heads swiveling to look in their direction instead.

But Ruby's cries were still shattering the air, and Blake wasn't sure if she could compete.

Yang's eyes fluttered open again, and Blake whimpered her name. The blonde groaned, her expression still one of great pain, but Blake knew she was fighting it.

"Blake..." she rasped. "Please... go to Ruby. I'll be fine..."

But Blake could feel her lie just as clearly as she could hear it in Yang's voice. With her hands pressed to her partner's stomach, she could feel how weak Yang's pulse was becoming. She couldn't afford to stop healing her for a second.

"Yang-"

"Blake... please..." She was crying now, and Blake's breath hitched at her next words:

"_She's my baby sister..._"

That was what broke Blake.

She cursed vehemently before more or less forcing her legs to move. She made an attempt to stand, determined to help Ruby and Weiss and still make it back for Yang.

But all of that was wishful thinking. Some unseen injury made itself known with concussive sharpness, and Blake cried out before crumpling. Yang sat herself up as quickly as she dared.

"Blake?! Agh-! Shit..." More of her own pain prevented her from moving very much.

Blake had hunched over herself, breathing shallowly, coughing hacking bouts into her knees.

It was clear to Yang now that there was nothing either of them could do.

"_Fuck_..." she hissed.

And then it was a shout, enraged at her own helplessness. Yang fired a clumsy bullet from each gauntlet, but they landed uselessly a dozen feet from the Grimm. The beasts hardly spared her a second glance before turning all of their attention back to Ruby.

Yang didn't want to watch her little sister die.

"Ru... by..."

Her breath left her body on a white cloud before a dizzying wave dragged her back down into the snow. Blake wheezed at her side, her coughs doubling up on themselves and leaving her winded and hollow.

The snow beneath them was stained with blood, bile, and tears, and all they could do was watch the beasts reach Ruby and Weiss and close their eyes...

. . .

Ruby had heard their cries, but she just couldn't move. Weiss was cold in her arms, and her sister and Blake were bleeding out not far away.

She was losing her entire team.

"No..."

Past the blurring tears, Ruby could see their shadows closing in on her.

"No..."

Past her own sobs, she could hear their guttural snarls.

"No..."

Past the sickening taste of blood, she could taste their hunger.

"No..."

Past the rancid stench of blood, she could smell their unnatural reek.

"No_..._"

And where Weiss' breath was absent to her touch, she could feel _theirs_.

"_No_..."

Ruby refused to die like this, refused to let _her team_ die like this.

She was surrounded, but no longer helpless.

Her trepidation, her fear, her panic and sadness and terror-

-they were all replaced by something else.

Instead of what she felt toward the soulless beasts around her, Ruby instead chose to focus on what she felt for her team, her friends, her family.

It wasn't rage, but it was furious.

It wasn't hatred, but it was passionate.

It wasn't fear, but it was all-encompassing.

_Love_.

The longing for their warm embraces.

The need to hear their laughter again.

The want to share their smiles and their victories.

The desire to see tomorrow together with them.

Little red rose petals that her semblance had shed littered the forest floor, covering more space than the copious pools of blood did. Those tiny petals trembled, glided across the surface of the snow, rolled a little...

Toward her.

They lifted into the air, first a foot, then twelve feet high. They swirled, forming small twisters, using the wind, fueled by Ruby's emotions.

Though she was still, her semblance was alive, channeling into those little petals. The speed of Ruby's semblance charged each one with vigor and strength.

Those separate twisters combined into one, and no longer simply drifted. They _sliced_ the air, tore it in half. And the Grimm were no exception.

It was an explosion of red.

Petals surrounded Ruby in a maelstrom of crimson, cutting like miniature blades. Her cries died down as she focused on this newfound ability, controlling it, mastering it.

The Grimm reared back, howling in fear as they recoiled, petals slashing them from all sides. Like giant thorns, the petals pierced hide and bone masks, sparing not a single centimeter, cutting the beasts to death in a flurry of haunting beauty.

It was only a moment before the swirling tornado of rose petals finally broke apart. The bodies of the Grimm crashed to the forest floor loudly in contrast to the light descent of the blades that had slain them.

And as the last rose petal fell, so did silence.

Only then did Ruby finally open her eyes and lift her head to bear witness to what she had achieved.

Every last Grimm was dead, and the petals fluttered almost innocently into the snow, weighted with blood.

She cast her gaze out to find Blake and Yang. They'd both seen everything, and though dumbfounded beyond words, they did manage to release sighs of the utmost relief.

It was over.

Blake straightened herself up as much as she could before helping Yang sit up as well. They wrapped their arms around one another, shivering for more reasons than one.

Yang apologized for yelling at her, for being so rough and hurting her.

Blake apologized for being so helpless and indecisive in a way that might've cost them their lives or the lives of their teammates.

They needed that moment badly, the warmth of the other's embrace.

But Blake pulled herself away for the sake of healing Yang's wounds properly now. Yang supported herself by keeping her arms loosely around the Faunus girl's shoulders, crying softly into the side of her neck, breathing apologies and relief.

Ruby knew they'd be alright.

Her eyes went back to Weiss.

She gasped gently when she noticed one of the rose petals had landed on her partner's cheek. Ruby quickly plucked it off, fearful that it might've cut her. But the petal was soft and delicate, no longer able to damage.

She didn't understand right away, but she could think on it later.

There was a shudder, but it wasn't her own.

Weiss' eyelashes fluttered open and her chest heaved a sputtering breath.

Ruby yelped, the tears spilling out freshly all over again.

"Weiss...!"

She bent forward to hug her partner as best she could, trying to shield Weiss from the unforgiving cold with what little warmth she had left in her body. Weiss' every breath wheezed in her ear, and Ruby whimpered again.

"Weiss... are you okay...?" She knew it was a silly question, but she needed to know the extent of the pain.

Weiss grunted, and it resulted in a harsh cough that left her biting down on her lip until it bled.

"My... ah..." Her voice failed her, and her breath came quicker, less effectively. She tried again. "My arm..."

Ruby pulled away a little. Now that her attention had been drawn there, she realized Weiss' right arm was definitely broken.

But that didn't explain Weiss' breathlessness. Something else was wrong, too.

Ruby caressed her partner's face with one hand, pushing her bangs aside, pained to have to both watch and feel her struggled breathing. Ruby feared one of her partner's lungs had collapsed, and more hot tears overflowed.

"Weiss..." she murmured. "Let me..."

She kept one hand on Weiss' cheek, fingers curling through her bangs to distract her. Ruby pressed her free hand's fingers up and down Weiss' torso, first over her left side, applying a gentle pressure. Weiss flinched, but nothing more.

But when Ruby moved to her right side, Weiss choked instantly.

Ruby whimpered apologies and curled over her again.

All of Weiss' ribs on her right side were broken, and her heart thrummed thickly beneath Ruby's palm.

"Sorry... I'm sorry..." Ruby whispered. "Help'll be here soon... Just hang on..."

Weiss' eyelids fell shut again, and a trembling breath left her lips in a puff of white.

Ruby sighed, simply relieved her partner was alive, relieved they were _all_ alive.

She looked across the clearing and up the hill to where Blake and Yang sat in the snow. From her position, she could see all of the blood that soaked them, and she bit her lip a little.

"Blake? Yang? Are you guys alright?"

Blake's ears flicked at the sound of her name, and she slowly turned her head in Ruby's direction. Sharing a quick glance with Yang, the blonde shrugged and nodded to her before Blake gave her reply.

"We're... fine," she reassured their leader. "Sort of..."

"Yeah, we're good, Ruby!" Yang called out. "Help should be here soon, so let's all just sit tight."

Ruby inclined her head in a nod before returning her attention to Weiss, and even from this distance, Yang could hear her sister murmuring soothing words to the heiress. Yang felt a surge of pride for Ruby, but her smile soon faded into a more contemplative expression.

Blake took note and spoke up first.

"What... _was_ that?"

"I don't know," Yang confessed. "I've lived with her all her life. I've seen all the moves she's capable of, but... that's the first time I've ever seen something like that."

"And hopefully, it'll be the last," Blake murmured.

"Why's that? It was... damn effective, wasn't it? All those little petals just took out a hoard of Grimm."

"Yeah, but... I think it only happened because she was so... _intent_ to keep us all safe," Blake said. "But her body was too weak for her to get up or use Crescent Rose, so she was defenseless aside from those petals. And I think that only happened because... because we were all so..."

"Helpless?" Yang finished for her. "Because the rest of us were defenseless, maybe even close to death. So her emotions took control and... I guess, almost gave her a new kind of power."

"I think so," Blake mumbled. "But I feel it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. At least, I hope it was, because I honestly never want to be in this kind of situation again."

"I don't think any of us do," Yang agreed. She hugged Blake a little tighter, and sighed against her shoulder. "My lil' sis is... something else, huh?"

"She really is. It makes me wonder what other kind of untapped potential she's hiding."

"Part of me wants to find out..." Yang mumbled. "But... another part kinda doesn't, heh. Not if it means almost dying again."

"Me too," Blake sighed. "But I guess this just means she loves us so much as her teammates and friends. So much that she'd unlock a new ability - just for an instant - to protect us."

"That's my Ruby!"

Just as Yang's proud voice faded on the wind, Blake's ears caught sound of distant shouts through the forest.

Help had arrived.

The Faunus girl sighed in relief.

"It was incredible though," she whispered. "How such a beautiful display could be so deadly, but only to her enemies."

Yang chuckled lightly to herself.

"Well, you know what they say – every rose has its thorns."

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><p><strong>AN: I didn't mean to make this a pun but look what happened.**

**Anywho, I think it'd be really incredible if Ruby had some kind of ability like this, kinda like Yang's special semblance. **

**Please review!**


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